EMPOWERING WOMEN FOR
STRONGER POLITICAL
PARTIES
Women and Political Parties
The National Democratic Institute
INTRODUCTIONS/
GROUND RULES
• Introductions
• Ground rules
• Ice breaker exercise
Photo: NDI
OBJECTIVES
• To understand the need for and status
of women’s participation within parties
• To identify barriers for women in
political parties
• To consider entry points for promoting
women’s leadership and participation
within political party structures
TOPICS
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Why women?
Global and national trends
Barriers to participation
Strategies for empowering women
Engaging men
Photo: Marie-Eve Bilodeau, NDI
KEY TERMS
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Political party
Electoral cycle
Women’s wing
Quota
Reserved seat
• Parliamentary
caucus
• Gender
• Gender equality
• Empowerment
WOMEN’S POLITICAL
PARTICIPATION: BENEFITS
• Higher standards of living
• Concerns of marginalized
voters represented
• Collaborative leadership
styles
• Work across party lines
• Peace building
• Better decisions
Photo: NDI
WHY DO WOMEN NEED
PARTIES?
• Parties are gateway to political
leadership
• Parties inform the policy agenda
• Yet parties are often the greatest
challenge
• Women continue to be underrepresented
EXERCISE: WOMEN IN
POLITICAL PARTIES
• True or False?
Photo: NDI
WHY DO PARTIES NEED
WOMEN?
• To gain party supporters
• To help develop a platform that
includes interests of all voters
• To win elections!
WOMEN IN POLITICS: GLOBAL
TRENDS
• Women in parliament: 20.3%
• Rwanda: 56.3%
• 33 parliamentary lower chambers with
30% or more
• Presiding officers: 15.1%
• 7 countries: no women
• 16.7% of ministerial posts
• 17 heads of government
Photo: Mark Wilson, Getty Images
UKRAINE COUNTRY DATA
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63% of Ukrainian voters are women
7.5% of MPs are women
0% of Ukrainian ministers are women
0% of Ukrainian governors are women
WOMEN LEADERS
Party Women Leaders
% of
Members
MQM
Rabta Committee
1. Dr. Nasreen Jalil
2. Ms. Mumtaz Anwar
18%
PML
Central Cabinet
1. Dr. Hamida Khorho, Senior Vice-President
2. Mrs. Yaqut Jamil-ur-Rehman, Vice-President
3. Begum Mehnaz Rafi, Vice-President
4. Ms. Nilofer Bakhtiar, President, Women’s Wing
14%
PML-N
Central Cabinet
1. Begum Tehmina Daultana, Vice-President
2. Begum Ishrat Ashraf
3. Ms. Najma Hameed
4%
PPP
Central Executive Committee
1. Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Chairperson
2. Begum Nusrat Bhutto Rahbar
5%
UKRAINE TODAY
Photo: Sergei Supinsky, AFP/Getty Images
UKRAINE: FUTURE?
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30% of MPs are women
30% of governors are women
30% provincial councilors are women
50% local elected officials are women
EXERCISE
Women’s political participation:
identifying helping and hindering forces
Image: Inter-parliamentary Union
OBSTACLES TO WOMEN’S
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
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Photo: NDI
Legal
Economic
Educational
Social/cultural/
religious
OBSTACLES TO WOMEN’S
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
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Time
Space
Physical security
Lack of confidence
Political parties
EXERCISE
Who does what within the party?
Photo: Amy Hamelin, NDI
THE ELECTORAL CYCLE
INTERNAL PARTY
ORGANIZATION
• Revise legal framework
• Ensure participation in decision-making
• Set targets for participation in
conventions
• Establish/strengthen women’s wings
• Mainstream gender in policy
development
INTERNAL PARTY
ORGANIZATION EXAMPLES
Australia: Labor Party adopted quotas
guaranteeing women’s participation in
governing boards.
Serbia: G17 Plus women’s wing is
recognized in the party bylaws.
PRE-ELECTORAL PERIOD
Candidate Recruitment and Nomination
Stages
ELIGIBLES
Women 50%
of eligible
candidates
ASPIRANTS
Fewer
women
NOMINEES
even
fewer
women
19%
women
ELECTED
81% men
CANDIDATE RECRUITMENT AND
NOMINATION
• Key Issues
• Quotas
o Candidate Quotas
o Reserved Seats
o Placement and Enforcement
Quotas May Be:
Voluntary – adopted by parties
Legislated – legally required
CANDIDATE RECRUITMENT AND
NOMINATION STRATEGIES
• Party support for quotas
• Guidelines for candidate recruitment
• Implementation and placement in
winnable positions
Photo: Amy Hamelin, NDI
CANDIDATE RECRUITMENT AND
NOMINATION STRATEGIES
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Work with CSOs to monitor compliance
Cultivate strategic alliances with men
Expand the pool of viable candidates
Encourage sharing of experiences
FUNDING OF PARTIES AND
ELECTION CAMPAIGNS
• Key Issue: Raising funds to win the
nomination and finance campaign
• More challenging for women
• Lower economic status
• Limited fundraising experience and
networks
Image: www.pixababy.com
FUNDING OF PARTIES AND
ELECTION CAMPAIGNS
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Establish fundraising networks
Establish internal party fund
Provide subsidies to women
Limit nomination and campaign
expenditures
FUNDING OF PARTIES AND
ELECTION CAMPAIGNS
• Public funding of parties
• Funds for training women
• Gender responsive budgeting
Image: www.pixababy.com
EXAMPLE: EMILY’S LIST
• American organization
• Seeks to elect
Democratic women
• 1985: 25 women raised
$350,000
• 2010: 700,000 members
raised $82 million
• Provides funding and
training
Photo: www.emilyslist.org
ELECTORAL PERIOD
• Key Issues
– Access to funding and media
– Capacity building for women
– Targeting women voters
– Articulating positions on gender
ELECTORAL PERIOD
STRATEGIES
• Train and mentor women candidates
• Ensure women’s visibility
• Identify and disseminate positions on
priority issues for women
Photo: NDI
ELECTORAL PERIOD
STRATEGIES
•Gender sensitive electoral monitoring
•Gender sensitive voter information
Photo: Megan Doherty, NDI
POST-ELECTORAL PERIOD
Gender Responsive
Governance
• Formulate policy
• Set governance priorities
• Address the concerns of
women
Photo: NDI
GENDER RESPONSIVE
GOVERNANCE STRATEGIES
• Undertake a gender equality
assessment
• Provide training to newly elected
members
GENDER RESPONSIVE
GOVERNANCE STRATEGIES
• Promote gendersensitive reforms
in parliament
• Ensure gender
mainstreaming in
party policy
• Retain women and
give them access to
vacancies
Photo: AFP/Getty Images
GENDER RESPONSIVE
GOVERNANCE STRATEGIES
• Support women’s cross-party networks
and caucuses
• Form strategic partnerships with CSOs
• Sensitize party members and work
with men
EXERCISE: POLITICAL PARTY
ASSESSMENT
Photo: NDI
EXAMPLE: BURKINA FASO
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Women’s mobilization
Candidate quotas
Partnership with men
Gender neutral quota language
Burkina Faso At a Glance:
National Assembly: 127 members (20 women/
16%)
Electoral System: Proportional Representation
EXERCISE: ENGAGING MEN ROLE
PLAY
Photo: NDI
EXERCISE: PRIORITIZING
RECOMMENDATIONS AND
DEVELOPING ACTION PLANS
Photo: NDI
PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH
Ukraine (2010)
• Do you think that higher female
representation in local councils is
needed?
 47% of respondent said yes
 25% said no
• Is the gender of a candidate important?
 59% do not care
NDI RESOURCES
• Empowering Women for Stronger
Political Parties
• Win with Women Global Action Plan
• iKNOW Politics: www.iknowpolitics.org
EMPOWERING WOMEN FOR
STRONGER PARTIES REVIEW
• Link between women’s
participation and good
governance
• Women’s participation
benefits parties
• Challenges can be
addressed throughout the
electoral cycle
• Contextualized approaches
Photo: NDI